Yes. It is UE3 only. Game was made in UE3 Not Autodesk Speaking: But afaik there are no plans to integrate anything other than scaleform into UDK that I am aware of. Beast is fully integrated into Unity for free. Scaleform is fully integrated into UDK for free. There are however trials available.
Free if you're a hobbyist - see Terms of service: Free for startups (under 100K), hobbyists and enthusiasts (using the service on a personal basis that is not for commercial, professional or for-profit use). Otherwise $300/year (standard) or $1500/year (ultimate). For commercial use, MoI is much cheaper.
each object needs a second UV channel and there are some unreal specific rules for how those uvs are layed out. 3dmotive has a free video about it here: http://www.3dmotive.com/training/free/creating-a-lightmap-uv-channel/?follow=true
Well theres already a working version out now and I'm curious, how are they preventing the most damaging piracy when they got the game free in the first place? What did they actually win? What did they prevent? People from getting the game for free?
Maybe run the Mudbox fbx file thru Autodesks free FBX Converter and output it to a version that Blender can handle. Haven't used Mudbox in 3 years, but use the free FBX Converter a lot, for troublesome fbx files to programs such as Unity and Unreal etc...
If animating is what you want to pursue you don't need to be a generalist. You can find free models with rigs that are license free for you to get started animating with them. Just do a google search. For animation I would recommend signing up at http://www.animationmentor.com/
You should look into something like Marmoset Toolbag. It's relatively pricey (there is a 30 day free trial), but very worth it and easy to use. Or if you wanted to use something like Unreal which is free, but more of a learning curve to get what you're going for. Just an idea.
For recording: Debut Video Capture Software (Free) http://www.nchsoftware.com/capture/ For live streaming: Open Broadcasting Software ("OBS") also free https://obsproject.com/ That should just about cover it. OBS can do both too if you don't want to use another program.
When it comes to a free external app I think Wings3D has some really powerful UV tools. I'm using that on an almost everyday basis with OBJ as a exchange format. Yet I would like to see that maya move&sew tool in some free app
Thought you guys might like this: http://dealzon.com/free-stuff It's a bunch of free stuff in general, but I've been getting a lot of music samplers from there lately. It's a good way of hearing some new artists. I've been digging some of the Lollapalooza stuff that they have there.